The Hunterian oration. Pt. II. The medical societies of the last century, and their relation to John Hunter : delivered before the Hunterian Society on Feb. 13th, 1896 / by G. Newton Pitt.
- Pitt, G. Newton (George Newton), 1853-1929
- Date:
- 1896
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: The Hunterian oration. Pt. II. The medical societies of the last century, and their relation to John Hunter : delivered before the Hunterian Society on Feb. 13th, 1896 / by G. Newton Pitt. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.
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![THE MEDICAL SOCIETIES OF TH CENTURY, AND THEIR RELAT TO JOHN HUNTER. [The first part of the Oration dealt wiih the life o Hunter and his experience a< a physician, which was shown to have been by no means inconsiderable. Dr. Newton Pitt then continued as follows :] Until the latter quarter of last century, Mr. Quain pointed out, there was no medical education in London. Surgeons and apothecaries were supposed to be able to pick up a sufficient smattering of tlieir work by attending the hospital for a few months, and physicians were educated elsewhere. Some half-dozen each year took the degree of M. D. at the Universities of Oxford or Cambridge, and these alone could become Fellows of the College of Physicians of London, while a much greater number pro- ceeded to medical degrees either abroad or at Edinburgh. Owibg to the genius and energy of the elder Monro and others, the education at Edinburgh was far ahead of anything in London, and we naturally find that medical societies and periodicals flourished there before they became established in the south. Before knowledge can be classified and accurate con- clusions drawn, it is necessary that a large amount of material should be collected from many sources. The formation of medical societies and the publication of transac- tions and periodicals form a feature in the medical history of the last century, contrasting strongly with that of the seventeenth century. Previously to this the Memoirs of the Royal Academy of Sciences in Paris and the Philo- sophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London were almost the only publications in which English medical cases were reported. Many English physicians had graduated at Paris, and the Philosophical Trausactions contain, up to the end of the century, over 1000 medical papers. A large number of medical men have received the honour of the Fellowship of the Society, and not the least distinguished of these was John Hunter, who contributed numerous papers, for the most part dealing with questions of natural history. Hdiniurf/h Medical Societies —The School of Physics was initiated in 1720 on the lines of the University of Leyden, and ir 1783 there were 400 students of medicine. The Medical Sjciety was founded in 1731, the records reach back as far as 1737 and the members received a charter in 1778. This society collected and published five volumes of medical essays and observations between the years 1733 and 1744. Cullen, Hunter, Oliver Goldsmith, Fothergill and Jlichard and William Budd were among the members. The](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b22322516_0005.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
